Written Answers Nos. 34-43
36. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration if he will carry out a review into the funding model for family resource centres and other community services under the remit of Tusla. [31356/20]
View answerTusla uses a commissioning model of funding to ensure that all available resources are used by the frontline services it funds to improve outcomes for children and families, in an efficient, effective, and fair way.
As part of this process, Tusla:
- analyses the needs of a service area,
- consults stakeholders,
- considers its available resources and statutory duties, and
- assesses what resources may be available in the community and voluntary sector.
I support this approach to ensuring resources allocated will enable Tusla achieve the best possible outcomes for children. It is important that Tusla can determine the best ways to meet local needs, within available resources.
The FRC Programme was established by the then Department of Social and Family Affairs in 1994. Later it transferred to the Family Support Agency, which became part of Tusla on its establishment in 2014.
The funding for FRCs this year amounted to some €18m.
I greatly value the work of these Tusla funded services. I recently met with the Family Resource Centre National Forum and heard their concerns and wishes for future resourcing. I am aware of pressures across the community and voluntary sector, which have implications for a number of government departments.
I intend to work with my cabinet colleagues, and with Tusla, to ensure our key delivery partners are enabled to fully meet the needs of children, young people and their families.
On 30 September last, I submitted my Performance Framework to Tusla, which will inform its priority focuses for the next three years. My vision for Tusla is for an Agency that equips families and communities to be strong and supportive of children and young people, and promotes their wellbeing.
I am pleased to have secured additional funding of €61m for Tusla in this year's Budget which, I believe, will help the Agency more fully achieve this vision. The exact details of where this additional funding is allocated by Tusla will be finalised in the coming weeks, and will form part of my consideration of Tusla’s Business Plan for 2021.
37. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the date on which the Tusla review into the provision of safe emergency accommodation for victims of domestic violence will be published; the analysis carried out by his Department and-or Tusla into the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the number of emergency accommodation spaces available for victims of domestic violence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30631/20]
View answerThe strategic review of emergency accommodation for victims of domestic violence that Tusla is currently undertaking is due to be fully completed by Quarter 2 next year.
I had hoped that it would be ready by the end of this year but the impact of Covid resulted in the diversion of all available capacity to managing the issues arising for refuges and service users.
Substantial progress has been made on a number of processes which contribute to the review. These include a literature review, consultations with stakeholders, geographical and census data analysis, consultation with service users and policy analysis. The literature review is now complete.
In 2020, I am providing €25.3m to Tusla in core funding for DSGBV services. I am also providing additional resources to Tusla to address challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. €800,000 has issued to DSGBV services to date, and I anticipate that €1.2m will be provided by the end of the year.
Since the beginning of this crisis, Tusla has actively engaged with services to support a continuity of service, and prioritised DSGBV services as a key service area during COVID-19. We know that COVID-19 restrictions present particular risks to victims of domestic or sexual violence. This can make it more challenging for them to access supports.
Tusla continues to monitor the situation in refuges with regard to the impact of COVID-19. According to Tusla, at the end of September, the number of operational refuge spaces was reduced by approximately 53 so that services could operate in line with COVID-19 guidelines.
Tusla has worked with refuges to identify and secure additional accommodation places where needs have arisen, and is working to bring a number of additional safe houses onstream shortly. At the end of September, 118 women or families were in refuge services, including off-site units. This also includes 160 children.
I understand that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will be taken into account by Tusla, in its accommodation review.
Tusla is particularly aware of the need for additional refuge spaces to be self-contained, in line with public health recommendations. The recently developed Modh Eile refuge in Galway City, which opened this year, is a good example of a model that meets these needs.
38. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the steps he plans to take to improve the pay and conditions of childcare workers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30625/20]
View answer59. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the steps he is taking or plans to take to improve the pay and conditions of childcare workers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30626/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 38 and 59 together.
I am very conscious of the need for significant improvement in pay and working conditions for practitioners in early learning and care and school-age childcare services.
The level of pay they receive does not reflect the value of the work they do for children, for families, and for wider society. In addition, low pay and poor working conditions have an impact on the quality of the care provided to children, through their effect on the recruitment, retention and turnover of qualified staff.
The most recent data available indicates that the average hourly wage in the sector was €12.55 in mid-2019, while staff turnover was 23%.
As the State is not the employer, the Deputy will appreciate that my Department does not set wage levels nor determine working conditions for staff working in the sector.
My Department is a significant funder of the sector, alongside parents. My Department has, over a number of years, provided a range of supports to service providers to enable them to improve wages and working conditions.
However, wages in the sector remain too low and a solution is required that will most likely need more investment, but also a mechanism to ensure that this investment results in improved pay and conditions.
I am committed to exploring new ways to impact positively on pay and conditions. In the medium term, the Expert Group on a New Funding Model and the Steering Group of the Workforce Development Plan are both considering future policy tools to support the workforce in early learning and care and school-age childcare services.
Work on the new funding model is looking at ways in which some services can be funded to meet additional requirements on the quality, affordability and accessibility of services. These could include requirements in relation to wages or working conditions.
In addition, the Programme for Government includes a commitment to the creation of a Joint Labour Committee for the sector, which could offer a mechanism through which a pay agreement could be achieved in the shorter term. I would urge staff and provider representatives to do their part and urgently consider how this matter can be progressed.
Since coming into office, I have held a series of meetings with stakeholders in the early learning and care and school-age childcare sector, including ICTU and SIPTU on the employee side, and IBEC and the new trade association Childhood Services Ireland on the employer side.
The possibility of a Joint Labour Committee is an issue I have discussed in these meetings. In line with the Programme for Government commitment, I intend to continue close engagement with these and other stakeholders with a view to establishing a JLC
39. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration his position and actions either taken by his Department or scheduled for the future on archival infrastructure to ensure truth for mother and baby homes. [31365/20]
View answerThe Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes was established in 2015 in order to examine what happened to the women and children who spent time in these institutions.
The Commission now is due to submit its final report by 30th October 2020. I know it has been a long and difficult wait for many but we are now rapidly approaching the point where these matters can be examined by all.
The Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 dictates that the evidence of the Commission be deposited with the prescribed Minister in a sealed form and must remain so for a period of 30 years, pending its transfer to the National Archives.
The Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020 that I am currently progressing, aims to avail of the opportunity to safeguard an invaluable database so that it is not destroyed or put beyond reach but, rather, can be used to support future information and tracing services.
The Bill also aims to ensure that the entire Commission archive will be preserved in full so that future generations can benefit further from the important work of the Commission. It is important to note that the majority of the archive is made up of copies of documents received from a number of public bodies such as the HSE, Tusla, Local authorities as well as Diocesan records.
I recognise that the issue of access to birth and early life information has long been a contentious issue for those who have tried to find the truth of their origins. I am absolutely committed to addressing the wider matter of providing a new architecture surrounding access to birth information and tracing.
I am aware that interesting proposals have been developed in relation to the potential development of a national archive of institutional abuse at the former Seán McDermott Street Laundry.
While this is a matter worthy of further discussion, I am mindful that it is a complex matter which extends beyond my own Department. It would require detailed consideration and extensive engagement, both with other Government colleagues and Departments, and with a large number of statutory bodies and stakeholder groups.
I am also conscious that the Government will wish to consider the final report of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation prior to considering its overall response to issues of this nature.
However, I do welcome the further engagement with all stakeholders that will undoubtedly happen at a future date in relation to archiving, memorialisation and remembrance.
40. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the status of the Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31380/20]
View answer52. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration if the Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020; if he will table amendments to provide immediate access for all affected persons and families to all records concerning them. [31314/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 40 and 52 together.
The Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020 was published on 8th October following Government approval.
The Bill was considered and passed all stages in the Seanad last week. I will be bringing forward a number of amendments this week, at Dáil Committee stage, in relation to the legitimate expectations of individuals who engaged with the Commission’s Confidential Committee module, and to ensure a complete copy of all the records in the archive will be deposited with my Department at the completion of the process.
I look forward to engaging with members of the House on this important matter.
The urgent necessity for the Records Bill is to ensure the Commission's database, and related records, are preserved and available to support current and future tracing services. The Bill ensures we protect the opportunities provided by this invaluable digitised and searchable information so we can support its appropriate use now and into the future.
In addition, the legislation provides that the records to be deposited with my Department are preserved in full as appropriate.
It must be emphasised that unrestricted use or open public access to the information contained in the database is not being proposed. Importantly, in bringing forward this Bill, it is not possible to provide a basis for any new entitlement or right of access by individuals to these records.
Access to personal information held in these records will continue to be regulated by the Adoption Act 2010, GDPR and Data Protection Act and the Freedom of Information Act, having regard to the constitutional rights of third parties.
However, I am absolutely committed to addressing the wider matter of providing a new architecture surrounding access to birth information and tracing and this will be advanced soon. I look forward to engaging widely to allow all those with a stake in this process to have their voices heard.
41. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration if he will expand on the provision of funding for asylum seekers; the way in which this funding will address accommodation issues in the direct provision system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31351/20]
View answerI am pleased to have secured a total of €225 million in funding for International Protection Seekers Accommodation for the coming year.
The State has a legal and moral duty to provide accommodation and ancillary services to those persons who enter the state seeking international protection and who take up the offer of accommodation provided by the State.
The increased funding, €145 million over what was provided in 2020, will enable my Department to begin the process of implementing the Programme for Government commitment to end the Direct Provision system and to plan for the transition to an alternative model of provision. The process of moving to a new system will take time and is complex.
The change process will be set out in the White Paper on Direct Provision which is currently being prepared by my Department and which will be completed by the end of the year. The White Paper will be informed by the report of the advisory group chaired by Dr Catherine Day. That group's report was presented to Government today and will be published shortly.
The increased allocation provided for 2021 will also enable my Department to continue the programme of improvements to the current system, including the progressive implementation of national standards to ensure greater consistency in the quality of accommodation and services provided to persons in the Direct Provision system.
The short-term focus will be on reducing the number of people, particularly families, who are accommodated in emergency accommodation and on increasing the proportion of own-door or self-catering options available, particularly to families.
My Department will also continue to meet the challenges of Covid-19 in accommodation centres. These include the provision for self-isolation facilities in centres and offsite self-isolation, increased capacity to support physical and social distancing, the provision of PPE and of a free confidential support line for residents operated by the Jesuit Refugee Service and the cocooning of all medically vulnerable and over 65 residents, as appropriate.
42. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration his views on whether a policy change is required in the interests of the safeguarding of minors in cases in which Tusla is notified that a deportation order is issued against a minor; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30628/20]
View answerI thank the Deputy for his interest in this area. The Deputy will be aware that there is no formal process in place for the Department of Justice to notify this Department or Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, when a deportation order has been issued against a minor, either with their family, or in circumstances when they are unaccompanied.
However, I am assured by the Department of Justice that if a situation presented itself where a minor in the care of Tusla faced deportation, it would not be done unless all appropriate care arrangements have been made for them in their country of origin, in conjunction with their legal guardians, in this case Tusla.
Neither this Department nor Tusla has a role in the management of the deportation process. The decision to remove a person from the State is serious, and not one that is taken lightly. In determining whether to make a deportation order, the Department of Justice gives due regard, among other factors, to the age of the person and humanitarian considerations.
Tusla is the statutory body with responsibility for the protection and welfare of children. Unaccompanied minors arriving in the state are taken into the care of Tusla and are allocated a social worker from the Separated Children Seeking Asylum (SCSA) team who works with them to ensure that their needs are met. This can include work in relation to asylum, visa or passport applications and extensive family reunification work.
